Mind, Motion & Matter

Running, Essentially . . .

Category Archives: Travel


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I Wonder, Wonder . . .

Lowell Glacier, Kluane National Park

As a self-professed, chicken-hearted traveler, I was surprised by my sudden desire to hop in a tiny five-seater Cessna to tour the ice fields and mountain range of Kluane National Park. Curiosity carried the day (as did MasterCard) as I convinced my husband that we should spring for a tour to see what is impossible to see on foot, or overnight camping expeditions. The park has been deemed a world heritage site and the waters from the glaciers are the third largest source of ocean water on the planet.

On a clear day the view from the park visitor’s centre is stunning however, what lies beyond is hidden. This remarkable wildlife preserve with the world’s greatest concentration of grizzly bears, along with a mountain that boasts the largest base circumferance of any non-volcanic mountain in the world, topped by the tallest peak in Canada, Mount Logan, second to Denali in North America howled out to me, “Just do it!”

Anticipating that the ride would be bumpy at times, I spent $14 at the general store for Gravol, consuming only 1 tablet of the 12.  In addition to the dreamlike beauty of the park, I found myself astonished by the man-made miracle of flight as we soared up to 12,000 feet.  I tried not to think too hard about the vulnerability of our position and felt quite doubtful that the emergency survival kit and first aid kit could ever be of use should anything go wrong in this extreme terrain.

Born to fly?

When time allows, I’ll post more of the photos of this priceless but pricey experience and leave it to those wiser than me to articulate the awesomely instructive powers of the natural world.

The color of the mountains is Buddha’s body; the sound of running water is his great speech. ~ Dogen


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Where a Whale Was

Getting there is more than half the fun!

We’ve been without the internet for nearly two days so it is getting ever more difficult to keep up the blogging with our whirlwind tour of five cities/towns.  The 4 1/2 hour ferry trip from Juneau to Haines, Alaska took place on a perfect day which allowed us to stay up top on the lounge deck the whole way. We were treated to partial body and tail sightings of a humpback whale, with photo evidence of it’s water spout.

Look for the water spout in the centre of this photo.

Cruising down the Lynn Canal is one of my absolute favourite activities.  We’ll be back.

Life along a 90 mile fjord


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Postcard from Juneau

Landing in Juneau at sunset on Sunday, May 30th

So much to say, that it becomes to hard to write about it. A fabulous day all-round with the most perfect weather of the year to date. Very short run along the Juneau waterfront.

Memorial Day at the Mendenhall Glacier


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Sleepy in Seattle

Rhododendren House in Portland, Oregon

Yes, we have a stopover at the Seattle airport, enroute to Juneau and are a little weary although the day got off to an energetic start. Shortly after rising I left for the the first leg of my run. The flat river route seems to be the preferred route for the Portlanese. One side is eclipsed by the closeness of the highway to the river but a path has been created a little offshore to offset this abomination of urban planning.

Off shore running path

I ran 4Km solo, returning to the hotel to pick up my husband for the second leg, a much hillier route up by Washington park. Talking about “real estate”, the view and vegetation was magnifico, well worth the huffing and puffing to climb the steep hillside terrain.  The photo below may bear some resemblance to the Glen Road bridge in Rosedale, Toronto however that is due to the shortcomings of my camera.  By comparison, the depth of colour and density of the foliage in Portland makes even the most treed areas of Toronto look wanting

Running up that hill!

The greens surpassed those of Ireland in the fall although I’ve yet to experience an Irish spring.  Where there is greeness, there is rain and lots of moss. Check out the concrete benches lining the sidewalks of this older section of town.

Moss park bench

The properties are so gorgeous that it seems owners feel compelled to name them. Thus, you have The Rhododendron House, which incidentally was for sale.

A bit of rest after a hard climb

Gamely, my husband agreed to run with me for this third day straight. With his knee trouble it has been avoiding running consecutive days but he says his knee is “okay”.

House on the hill

The most risky aspect of this run, knee-wise was the steep return downhill. I advised him to walk down the steepest sections. Hopefully, this tourist-trotting won’t aggravate his tender meniscus as we are heading up to “rave run” territory and our shared runs are always a highlight of any vacation.

Run for the view


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Pitching Portland

Japanese garden, Washington park

Until recently, I had a vague notion that I might like to visit Eugene, Oregon one day being a famous runner’s city but Portland was just a name.  I asked my brother who lives in the Yukon whether he thought we would enjoy visiting Anchorage, Alaska and I received a flurry of emails detailing the wonders of Portland.  We spoke on the phone and he assured me that I would love it and if I didn’t love it, he would give me my money back.

Early morning hang-out, THE NINES lobby

And that is how we ended up sipping coffee in the lobby of the ultra-hip THE NINES hotel.  My brother sent me a Hotwire alert that was offering rooms at THE NINES for nearly half price.  The same price as what we will pay for a very modest rooms in Juneau and Haines in Alaska and where the internet will probably not be free.  So we arrived mid-afternoon on Thursday and fly to Juneau, late Sunday afternoon through Seattle, touching down in Juneau around the time the sun will set.

In pitching Portland to me, Jack described the city as being very Lynn-esque.  Hmm, my husband and I have been mulling this one over, and he says, “Well, not my Lynn particularly.”  The key elements, I think are a bike, runner friendly place with great coffee and bookstores, extensive public transit and casual outdoorsy feel.  But, the birthplace of grunge and a skateboarders haven, not really.  I’m definitely into low-risk sports and if pressed, would have to name jazz as my favourite music.  On the other hand I was a huge fan of Patti Smith when in art school and her bio was the top seller at Powell Books, which is a far better showing than on the NYT best seller list.

So, so good . . . going back for more.

Highlights so far have been; Powell Books, which far outstrips the Strand in New York City, the Japanese gardens in Washington Park, the amazing light rail transit, Stumptown coffee at the ACE Hotel and the best cheese blintzes ever at Kenny and Zuke’s deli just a door away from the ACE Hotel.

A time to blog and a time to RUN!

So much to do, and so much to report but I have a run to get in so gotta go . . . adios!


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Postcard from Portland

Wish you were here and hope the young men minding the homestead have good weather for barbequing.  Hoping the rain here will let up a bit to allow a dry run tomorrow.  It was raining when we left Toronto, pouring at our stopover in Calgary and then when we arrived in Portland, letting up about an hour ago.

Was up at 4:15 a.m. Toronto time.  Thank goodness that we are in the hometown of Stumptown Coffee . . . ole!

Staying awake in Portland


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Run to the lake and back and back again

Footbridge at Palace Pier

The early Saturday drizzle was not the best set up for a longer run without company.  I got a lot done while in procrastination mode, tidying up, gardening.  My husband offered to run five miles with me however this involved a loop back to the house, and the idea of getting close to home with many miles still to run, seemed mentally challenging.  But once I got bunch of chores done, the mood to run long finally arrived and out the door I ran ready to relax into a two hours or more solo run.

View from Coronation Park foot path

The marathoner in me triumphed as I enjoyed a steady pace through High Park, out to the Palace Pier bridge, then back east along the lake, heavily clothed in fog to just south of the Rogers Centre.  From there I ran northwest, home through the city.

Saturday run by mileage markers

It was our anniversary weekend but different commitments including a party for soon-to-be-parents made it difficult to get away.  Our solution was to travel very close to home and that somewhere was on one of my regular running routes.  A place by the lake of course!

Radisson by the Lake

The only expectation I had of the Radisson Hotel on the lake, just west of Queen’s Quay was that there would be a view.  It was a surprise to find our room nattily attired to a standard one might expect in a NYC boutique hotel.  And then with a little something you might not expect at a NYC boutique hotel, a high powered telescope. Which seemed a bit funny given that the easterly view of our corner room was a wall of condos.

Room with a . . . . telescope!

Coincidentally, the Toronto Goodlife Marathon route passed in front of our hotel, affording the chance to provide a bit of crowd support where none existed. I hope the strong tailwind made up for the drudgery and discomfort of the rain.  It was painful to watch runners slog by, both eastward and westward.  Go, marathoners!  I was impressed at how our cheers, lit up the faces of some.  I’m not sure if I could manage a smile in those conditions.

Brendan Kenny, Toronto Marathon Winner

As for our run, we did a route that took us to the Esplanade, a never run route for us.  This also gave us a chance to see the eventual winner speed by half-marathoners who had started out an hour earlier.

Tourist in Toronto

After our run, we walked over to Terminal Quay for breakfast at the Watermark Pub and an enjoyable browse through the Tilley store. Exiting the hotel parking lot proved easy, in spite of the ongoing stream of marathoners we were delayed barely a minute or so.

All's well that ends with Eggs Benedict

Ah, life by the lake.  I found myself wondering how much space and garden I would be willing to give up to trade in our too-big-for-us fixer upper for a lake view.


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CBC Morning – Run to the Tower

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Mountain Equipment to outfit a young man, with running shoes courtesy of MEC. Generously, they also provided him with microfibre warm-up pants, this in preparation for an interview with John Chipman of CBC Radio Morning, the Running Show, to be conducted while running.

When the time came for the run, my friend did not appear and a while later we got a call that he would be another hour. Thankfully, I was able to recruit Clifton to take his place.  In the end, running with Clifton proved more in line with the theme of the interview, that being how running is a great activity to acquaint newcomers to the city.  Although barely a mile from the lake, Clifton was not aware of the lake’s proximity having arrived from Africa barely a month ago.  As well, he had never been very close to the CN Tower.  When asked whether had had seen much of the city, he cited a trip to St. Clair and Yonge.

The show will air this Tuesday, May 10th around 7:20 a.m. and will run for about two minutes.

CLICK HERE for details about John Chipman and running in Toronto.

CLICK HERE  to connect to CBC Radio online.

Spirited sight-seeing

Thanks MEC!


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Some are in Spain, Others in California

Crocus

But I am in Toronto and like everyone else in Toronto, waiting for spring or at least the promise of spring to arrive.  My husband spotted these crocus making their way towards the sun on our front lawn.

Friends in the neighbourhood have chosen a fantastic time to be away and are enjoying the legendary Spanish sun. They sent photos of the Barcelona Marathon, likely taken while sipping wine or enjoying a latte. These friends have let us know that they have watched and admired us through the years, going out for our runs but have never felt compelled to run themselves.

Barcelona Marathon - Seen by Toronto Tourists (Rick M.)

One of our Saturday run regulars responded promptly to the regular Are-you-running? email with news that he is in California and had to apply a second coat of sunscreen.

Let’s be happy for all those Torontonians who are away in sunny places to enjoy a wonderful preview of spring and summer!  And another cheer for runners who need wet sponges to cool off a bit.

We visited Spain a couple of years ago in late-May. Retiro Park in Madrid is a fabulous place to run.  We were one block away and this park feels fairly safe for a lone female. Barcelona, especially the Gothic quarter is a place to take great care while walking or running.  Barcelona was named the pickpocket capital of the world by Trip Advisor. Gaudi’s Guell Park seemed to be a favourite with runners and although it is quite a climb to get there I would definitely like to run there should I visit again.

Sponges for overheated runners. (Rick M.)

But back to reality, I left the house with a base layer of shorts and singlet should I decide to run indoors, under my lined wind pants and a Gore-Tex jacket.  I ran past the YMCA and decided that the this was a day when the owners of Gore-Tex, waterproof pants would feel the purchase justified.  I could not bear the thought of clingy wet, pants so did my short three miler on the treadmill.  Oh mister sun, sun . . . and I promise to clean up the garden and front yard on the first sunny day.

Memories of Sunshine - Plaza Mayor, Madrid, 2009


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Running on the Wings of Song

“Do you have any way-back, play-backs you listen to while running in the privacy of your own ears?”  So asks, Bearrunner an east coast running blogger.

The most important playlist on my IPod is called Tempo which is the music I listen to while doing my tempo and interval running.

Break on Through The Doors (1966)

Song 2 Blur (1997)

Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin (1970)

Holiday Green Day (2005)

New Born Muse (2001)

Immigrant Song is my all-time fave for fast running and it is a  41 year old, way-back, play-back from 1970.  I would never choose to listen to this as recreational background music but while running it somehow expresses the energy of adrenalin and heart-pumping, fast running and makes a workout seem easier.Two favourite upbeat, feel-good songs that help me get out the door are As by Stevie Wonder and Moonlight Kiss by Raul Malo.

The evening after finishing the California International Marathon last December my husband and I visited the new San Francisco location of the famous Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland.  Raul Malo was performing that night, a show which I found moderately entertaining.  However, a couple of days later when I downloaded some his music, I realized the degree to which my enjoyment had been moderated by my post-marathon fatigue.  Post-Yoshi’s, I found myself bouncing off the walls to the effervescent and sunny beat of Raul Malo and his band.

Raul Malo has been to Toronto as I discovered.  He has performed at Hugh’s Room, however without his whole ensemble.  I hope to see Raul Malo again but not the evening after a marathon.